Before A Mirror Dimly
by LinZE
Summary: This is my take with certain inputs from revsue on what happened in the run up to the start of her EloisePD crossover Now In A Mirror Dimly.
1. Chapter 1

**BEFORE A MIRROR DIMLY (**prequel to Now In A Mirror Dimly)

**Disclaimer: **Any characters you recognise belong to Kay Thompson, Meg Cabot and/or Disney.

**Rating:** FRC

**Summary: **This is my take (with certain inputs from revsue :-) ) on what happened in the run up to the start of her Eloise/PD crossover Now In A Mirror Dimly. (as promised ;-) )

Now, Nanny would never ever wish for any harm to come to Eloise, but she was not naïve enough to fail to admit that there was a single advantage to her charge being ill. It was the only time that she could ever, ever, ever, remember the child staying still for longer than a few minutes at a time. Although Eloise had only picked up a cold, from where Nanny didn't like to think, she must truly have felt horrible if she was willing to stay in bed, and so Nanny was taking every pain to make her feel better.

"There you are, Love." she said, perching on the edge of the bed. "Hot chocolate just the way you like it. And Bill sends his love."

"'ank you." She replied sniffling.

"Now what's the matter?" she asked when the six-year-old remained grim-faced.

"'e were suppose' to be going to da' zoo today." she sighed. Nanny smiled, and brushed the hair out of her face.

"Well, now, I don't think that the zoo is going anywhere in the next few days. I promise, promise, promise Eloise, I shall take you as soon as you are feeling better." She told her.

"As soon as I'm be'er? Pinkie promise, promise, promise?" Eloise asked, her eyes half lidded, and clearly half asleep already.

"I promise." she said, leaning down and kissing her gently on the forehead and taking the cup from her hands, sitting and stroking her hair until she was certain that she was asleep.

Eloise was a typical child in this if nothing else. She coughed and spluttered and complained for a few days but was quickly on the mend. Nanny however, was beginning to feel her age. She had been awakened in the wee hours of the morning three nights on the trot by a watered down version of Eloise's usual call, and she was missing her sleep. On top of that, just as the six year old returned to her usual vigour and vim, Nanny seemed to have caught a touch of whatever it was that Eloise had had.

"Naaaaannnnyyyy!" the call rang through the suite and having been jolted awake she coughed a little as she sat up. Nanny tried to muster the will to shift her legs over the edge of the bed as the sound of pattering feet let her know of Eloise's imminent arrival. "Nanny! Nanny! Nanny!"

"Yes, Love?" she asked, reaching for the box of tissues as the bundle of energy threw herself into the room.

"I think," she declared, standing with her hands on her hips. "that today would be a marvellous day to go to the zoo."

"You 'ink so do you?"

"I know so!" the girl declared and Nanny knew that they would be spending the day amongst the animals. "You pinkie promised." she said, narrowing her eyes, obviously sensing her reluctance.

"Yes, Eloise, I did." she said, straitening out her shoulders with an air of resilience. "Well, how about you go order breakfast and I'll be out in a minute?" Eloise skipped off and Nanny shook her head. Rummaging through the drawer next to her bed, she found a bottle and grabbing a couple of advil, swallowed them dry. Pulling on her robe, she stood before the mirror and even in the dim light she could see that she'd certainly looked better. Today was going to be an exercise in love and perseverance she sensed.

Nanny nursed her coffee all through breakfast, her porridge holding minimal appeal. Despite the fact that her head felt as though it was filled with cotton wool, she was glad to hear Eloise back to her usual talkative self. Looking out of the window, Nanny could see that the sky was grey and she had a horrible feeling that it was going to rain before the day was out. Normally, this wasn't something that would put them off, it certainly wouldn't have been the first time they'd gotten their toes wet, but the weather did nothing to improve her mood.

"Right then," she said, realising that Eloise was in the process of explaining her next plan, sure to reduce the Plaza to complete shambles to Weenie, a sure sign that she was done with her breakfast. "on with your cardigan and your winter coat. And your wellie boots. Now shoo, shoo, shoo." she said, ushering her towards her room. Nanny resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the complete mess she saw when the child opened the door, why she'd only tidied the place the previous afternoon. In any case, that wasn't a battle she was going to win today so she decided not to comment, instead she returned to her own room to get ready for their excursion. She was already wearing a cardigan, but removed it in order to pull on a lighter one underneath, knowing that if she was feeling the cold in here she was likely to freeze once they were outside. Once she was all bundled up, she made sure she had plenty of tissues and her purse before heading back out to meet Eloise.

"Come on, Nanny!" Eloise called, already standing at the open door.

"Now just you slow down, down, down, Pet." she said, "There's no need to rush so."

"Oh, but there is!" Eloise replied. "Good morning Sir Wilkes!" she continued standing half outside the door.

"uh… oh… yes.. Good morning, Eloise." he stuttered as Nanny came up behind her charge and placed a restraining hand on her shoulder. "Nanny." he added, tipping his hat in her direction. She smiled, trying terribly to suppress a blush that was threatening to colour her cheeks and went to say hello. Unfortunately, something caught at the back of her throat and it came out more along the lines of an entirely undignified coughing noise.

"Sorry…" she managed eventually.

"Not at all…" Sir Wilkes said, avoiding making eye contact and looking horribly uncomfortable, before moving on down the corridor. Not for the first time, Nanny wished that the floor would just open up and swallow her whole, either that or she could crawl back into her bed, pulling her covers over her head to block out the world.

Eloise set the pace, running ahead and then waiting if somewhat impatiently for her to catch up. They made their way through the hotel and out onto the street.

"Hand." She said, holding hers out to Eloise.

"But Nanny…"

" 'But Nanny' nothing…" she cut in. "You know the rules." Without anymore fuss, Eloise submitted to having her hand held. The streets of New York were predictably busy, but they had missed the worst of the rush hour and they walked around the edge of Central Park towards their goal. Only once they were within the boundaries of the zoo did Nanny let go of Eloise's hand and it was with strict instructions that she wasn't to run off and if they did get separated, then Eloise was under no circumstances to pass back through the gate.

"Yes, Nanny." Eloise cooed and smiled so sweetly that she was instantly on guard.

Within the space of the next two hours they were back and forth more times than Nanny cared to think on. Not even Eloise's obvious delight at seeing the animals was enough to make her feel better. She was exhausted, and her head was hurting and Eloise's usual antics although not grating on her exactly, just made her feel as though it was all too much. Glad of the opportunity to sit down, lunch at the café was the first opportunity to catch her breath she'd had and although she had spent most of the morning trying not to argue with her charge as she just couldn't muster the energy, she did manage to keep her tied to the table for almost a full forty-five minutes.

"Come on, Nanny! We've still got to see rather a lot of things!" Eloise declared eventually however.

"Yes dear…" she admitted, "I suppose we do. Though we could always come back another…" her attempt was wasted however, as Eloise had already dashed out of the door. Nanny paid the bill and followed her back outside, searching the area for even the first sign of her charge. She could see neither hide nor hare of her, though, and as she continued her search, the heavens opened and the rain began to bounce off the ground. She was soaked to the skin in the space of a few minutes, her clothes hanging heavily around her. The water was seeping into her sensible shoes and she was beginning to panic when she finally caught sight of the familiar bright red coat.

"Eloise!" She tried to call out but her throat failed to cooperate once again. Her nose was streaming and she stopped to fish a tissue out of her pocket. For the first time in a long time, she was ready to sit down and cry. Her chest was tight, she couldn't breathe through her nose, Eloise was… somewhere and…

Just when she was about to give up entirely, a familiar voice sounded from behind her.

"Nanny! All the animals are hiding."

"Well it is we' and col'…" she began, pulling herself together and turning round to offer the child a soft smile.

"I suppose…" Eloise said, still looking quite fed-up. "Let's go home." she declared, turning on her heel. Nanny had never been so relieved to hear that suggestion in her entire life.

Stepping through the doors, Charlie greeted them with a wave and Nanny just about managed to summon up a smile for him. On the way up the road, Eloise had danced around her, splashing in puddles and singing at the top of her voice. Luckily, once they were inside the Plaza, she had run off to speak to someone so that Nanny reached the lift first and had to wait for her rather than the other way around. Eloise rambled on to Max, as they climbed to the top floor, while Nanny leaned up in the corner, talking herself through what she had to do before she could allow herself to crawl into her bed and hide. When Nanny opened the door into their suite, Eloise pushed past her and ran towards her room.

"Oh!" Nanny exclaimed. "Eloise! Now you come back 'ere." she called thickly. She stripped off her jacket and sat down to take off her shoes, even this simple task seeming to take so much out of her. The urge just to stay there, to sit quietly, for even a few more minutes was immense, but she knew if she did that, she'd never manage to get herself back up again. "Come on now! Get out of those wet things." she called, again heading for the bathroom. Sitting on the edge of the bathtub Nanny turned on the taps, and like an automaton she tested the temperature of the water before putting in the plug and pouring in some of Eloise's favourite bubble-bath. "Righ', into the water with you." she said, when the child appeared in the doorway. Helping her in to the water, the sweet scent of strawberries caught in Nanny's throat and she started to cough. It took her a couple of minutes to catch her breath and when she did, Eloise was watching her carefully from the tub.

"Are you alright, Nanny?" she asked.

"Oh, I'll be fine, Pe'." Nanny replied, trying to reassure the child, wiping her nose clean. "Just a touch of wha' you had." Eloise seemed to accept this and returned to playing with the soapsuds. Pushing herself upright, Nanny left the bathroom and set about picking up the trail of clothes that her charge had left around their rooms and put them in the hamper. Her own clothes were distinctly damp around the edges and there was actually water dripping down her neck, but there wasn't an awful lot she could do until the bathroom was free. As if on cue, Eloise bounded into her bedroom wrapped in a bright pink bath sheet.

"You know," she began and then continued without waiting for a reply. "I think I am going to make an enclosure for Skipperdee Like the ones they have at the zoo."

"Tha' will be nice, Pet." she said, grabbing her and starting to rub her briskly up and down. "Let's get you into some dry things first though." Once Eloise was decent enough to be seen in public, where she would undoubtedly end up, Nanny went to stand up. Well she did stand up. It just seemed that the blood so vital for her brain to function was a little slow in following her. She reached out and used the chest of drawers to steady herself until her balance returned.

"Nanny?" Eloise asked, stopping spinning and looking at her strangely.

"I'm fine, fine, fine." she said, testing out her weight on her legs. "I just need a nice hot bath, a cup of tea an' an early night." She added almost to herself, remembering to offer Eloise a smile, ruffling her hair a little.

"Well, I shall be quiet as a mouse!"

"Thank you." she said, and headed out the door. She felt as though her limbs were made of lead, and it was almost as though her bed was singing a siren song to her as she crossed the sitting room. She knew that she really should take the time for at least a shower, certainly to dry her hair and a nice hot cup of tea would probably do her good but she simply couldn't muster the energy. Shutting the door of her room behind her, she drew the curtains but didn't bother turning on the light as she pulled off her clothes. She retained just enough presence-of-mind to put them in the hamper before she pulled on a clean nightgown and crawled into bed. It was only minutes before sleep overcame her and she became oblivious to everything that was to go on around her.

**A/N: **well I hope you enjoyed this – there are at least another couple of chapters to come… possibly more. Let me know what you think and great thanks to revsue for beta-ing. And a special mention to Tayryn who posted me the movies and made it all possible.

lol

xLx


	2. Chapter 2

**BEFORE A MIRROR DIMLY (**prequel to Now In A Mirror Dimly

**Disclaimer: **Any characters you recognise belong to Kay Thompson, Meg Cabot and/or Disney.

**Rating:** FRC

**Summary: **This is my take (with certain inputs from revsue) on what happened in the run up to the start of her Eloise/PD crossover Now In A Mirror Dimly

Sir Wilkes was sitting up in bed, covers pooled at his waist when the phone rang. Marking his place in his book, he put it down and picked up the receiver.

"Is this Sir Wilkes?" A pleasant voice asked from the other end of the line.

"Yes," he replied, "this is he."

"Good. I'm calling on behalf of Queen Clarisse Renaldi, please hold on as I put you through." she said, and he patted down his sheets, trying to quell his nervousness.

"Wilkes?" Clarisse's voice was soft and warm and instantly put him at ease.

"Clarisse." he responded.

"I can only apologise for calling this early," she said immediately. "but I seem to have the most ridiculous schedule this week."

"Not at all. As I said to your assistant yesterday, I probably wouldn't be up quite yet if I wasn't expecting your call but…" he trailed off, feeling himself blush. It was a little after 6.30am in New York but his alarm would have gone on in an hour on any normal day. "I just hope they aren't working you too hard." he added.

"No more than usual." Clarisse said lightly, chuckling at him. "Oh, I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to seeing you."

"It…it has been too long." He admitted. They talked for almost a half hour, about his plans to visit in ten days, and about the inconsequential things that they seemed to still be able to pick up on from when they had last talked.

"How is life living in the Plaza?" she asked once she had managed to stop chuckling at him. He was about to reply when the sound of someone banging on his door startled him.

"I… I'm afraid that I'm going to have to go, Clarisse…" he said, trying to figure out exactly who could possibly be at his door this early in the morning. "There's someone outside…"

"Well, I shall see you when you arrive, then."

"Yes… Yes… Sleep well." He said absently, pulling his sheets from around him and sitting up on the edge of the bed.

"Sir Wilkes!" Eloise's voice was plainly audible from outside and equally recognisable. What wasn't, however, was the obvious panic in her tone. Pulling on his dressing gown and slippers he opened the door, blinking at the bright light that flooded in from the corridor.

"Oh, Sir Wilkes!" she cried, flinging herself at his legs. She was crying, almost hysterically, but he was frozen. He had no idea how to deal with an upset child… had no experience with children at all. Looking back up the corridor, he wondered where Nanny was. Undoubtedly she would know what to do. Eloise was trying to tell him something but amongst her sobs it was incredibly difficult to figure out what that was. "… Nan…" As soon as he heard this much, his mind was galvanised to action. "…can't wake… There's something wrong… you have to come…" she managed to get out eventually, all but dragging him towards their rooms. Wilkes wasn't sure what to think, or even what it was he should do, but it seemed that choice was being made for him.

Casting his mind back to the previous morning, it was plain to see that Nanny had been under the weather. They had obviously been going out though, and when he had seen the rain start that afternoon he had hoped that she and Eloise were already back, but suspected from the air of peace and general quiet of the foyer that they had not. He hadn't seen anymore of them yesterday though. He paused in the doorway to their suite, his propriety holding him back.

"Please, Sir Wilkes!" Eloise's plaintive cry, quiet and tremulous, was more than enough to melt his heart though. "I… I can't get her to wake up." Mustering up what little courage he possessed, he patted the child's head in what he could only hope was a reassuring fashion before heading towards the bedroom door. The room was in almost complete darkness, but the light from the living room was just enough for him to see by. He had never been into Nanny's room before but his attention was immediately drawn to the bed in its centre. Eloise hung back as Wilkes moved forward, trying to get a better view of the rumpled bed. In the nervous silence, he could hear her breathing, ragged and rapid. Nanny's head was tossing and turning, her face covered with a sheen of perspiration, as she fought with the sheets that were encompassing her. She seemed so lost in the middle of the bed, so small and fragile, that he found it hard to equate her with the woman he had grown to respect so much. Kneeling down, he reached out to touch her, only to hesitate before he made contact. Then Nanny turned again, and her head came to rest quite naturally beneath his palm. His momentary shock at this was soon overcome by his concern at the heat that was radiating from her. Wilkes' own experience dealing with sick people was almost as minimal as that of his dealing with children but he knew enough to realise that the woman before him was seriously unwell.

"Nanny?" he tried quietly, hoping to be able to rouse her, but with little success. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he tried shaking her, and although she moaned, softly it was quickly becoming plain that she was not going to wake up. Turning her head away, she began to cough. Gently at first, though he could hear the wet crackle in her lungs, but the fit quickly grew more serious. In a matter of moments, her body was being racked by these spasms. Doing the only thing he could think to do, Sir Wilkes tried to help her upright, knowing that that ought to help her breathing. He struggled with her limp form, but eventually managed to prop her up, helping to support her himself. Despite his best efforts, it was plain to see she was in great discomfort and that she was still struggling hugely to draw breath.

"Eloise!" he called, turning to look behind him to where he suspecting the child had remained. A snuffling noise from the doorway confirmed his suspicions. "Do you know how long she's been like this?"

"I… I…" she began.

"It's ok. No-one's going to be angry with you. I just need to know."

"When we came back yesterday afternoon…" she began, sniffing rather violently. "… she wasn't very well. She got me into dry clothes and then she went straight to bed."

"Was she coughing then?" he asked,

"A little. Not like this. Will Nanny be ok?"

"I… I'm…" Wilkes couldn't think what to say. His own mind was reeling. "I'm sure she'll be fine. But I think…" He was interrupted however, when Nanny shifted in his embrace. In a testament to the inbuilt nature of her manners, she had brought her hand up to her mouth, if rather ineffectually, and suddenly as it now fell away he saw a spattering of blood across her palm. She fell forward, against him, as though her energy had been entirely sapped and he could feel her chest heaving as she continued to struggle for breath. Spurred to action, he turned back to face the child in the doorway.

"Eloise," he began calmly. "I need you to call the front desk. Tell them what's happened and that I say they're to phone for an ambulance – right away. Understand?" she nodded and ran from his sight.

It was only once they were alone that Wilkes realised that he was sitting on Nanny's bed, holding her up against his chest. He started at this, but primarily at the fact that the realisation was quite a pleasant one. Shaking his head, he reminded himself that the woman he was currently holding was seriously ill. If he hadn't been convinced of that before, the blood and her increasingly laboured breathing was certainly serving to solidify his concern. Rather awkwardly, he rearranged the pillows against the headboard before shifting her back to rest against them. She was dripping with sweat, presumably from both the temperature she was running and the effort simply breathing appeared to have come. Pulling the sleeve of his dressing gown down, he used it to wipe down her brow, trying to recall what it was his own Nanny had done for him when he had been ill. He could hear Eloise talking outside as he brushed the stray strands of hair out of Nanny's face. He found himself stroking her head quite naturally and it seemed like second nature to try to reassure her any way he could, whether she could hear him or not.

"Don't you worry… you'll be fine…"

It could have been a lifetime or a mere matter of minutes before the noise from outside the room infiltrated through into his conscious again.

"Eloise?" It was Bill's voice, and he was greeted with another flood of tears. Only a few seconds later, there was a quiet rap at the door and Miss Thompson stepped in.

"Sir Wilkes? Mr Salamone's called for an Ambulance. I just came up to see if there was anything I can do?"

"I…" he began. "I don't really know." he admitted, feeling hugely out of his depths and incredibly grateful that someone else was there to whom he could hand over responsibility.

"Well. Bill's taken Eloise downstairs to help look for the ambulance..."

"Good. That's probably good." he murmured, turning back around to look at Nanny, suddenly not wanting to leave. Miss Thompson came closer and, crouching down next to the bed, cast a critical eye over the patient.

"Oh, you poor dear." she said, quietly. "She really is in a pretty bad way, isn't she…" she produced a first aid kit from somewhere and out of that a thermometer and placing a cap on the end, inserted it into Nanny's ear. They sat in silence until the device beeped and Miss Thompson read the result. "105.3º. That is high. And she's obviously struggling to draw breath."

"When she was coughing earlier…" he found himself saying. "There was blood… I think. Not a lot but…" he added, feeling rather stupid now.

"No – I think it was a good thing that we called for an ambulance." she continued, almost to herself. Sir Wilkes looked up at her at this point. "Better safe than sorry, in any case." she added. "I had Bill bring up some things - I'll be right back." Turning back to look at Nanny, Wilkes' heart constricted yet again. He couldn't quite comprehend how she could still manage to look so pale, despite the flush of fever that marred her cheeks. Her hair was falling from its fastenings, forming a wispy halo around her face and he couldn't resist the urge to reach out and touch it. Hearing Miss Thompson return, he dropped his hand, and shifted back on the bedspread a little.

"Right, now I've got some cool water and a flannel…" Miss Thompson said, placing a porcelain basin on the table nest to the bed. "Let's see if we can't make you a little more comfortable, Nanny." Wilkes watched as the other woman dipped the cloth into the bowl and rung it back out again. He was more than a fraction surprised when he had to unwind his hand from Nanny's as he moved further back. He was equally surprised by her reaction as he placed her hand back on the cover however, as she seemed to almost reach back out for him. "Why don't you take this - " Miss Thompson suggested, handing over the cool compress, gesturing for him to move back up the bed. "That's it." she encouraged as he reached forward and wiped Nanny's face before laying the cloth across her brow. A few moments later, for the first time since Sir Wilkes had entered, her eyes flickered open. He found that her gaze was unfocussed but none the less, he was drawn to it.

"Hello there." he said, as she seemed to notice him. Her mouth moved, as though she were trying to say something but was struggling to find enough breath.

"Eloise?" she managed eventually.

"Eloise is fine." Miss Thompson said. "Bill is looking after her for the moment." she seemed reassured by this, but shortly began to cough again quite violently. Wilkes could honestly say he had never been so unnerved as he was when the tears began to escape Nanny's eyes, as she pressed a hand to her chest, obviously in pain as she fought for breath. He was frozen in inaction, he wanted so desperately to help her but was at a loss at to what it was he could actually do.

Once again, the sound of people approaching down the corridor awoke him to reality though and an instant later the room seemed to have been invaded. As the paramedics swept in, Sir Wilkes backed away leaving them to get on with their job, knowing that Nanny was now in safe hands. He answered their questions to the best of his ability but couldn't for the life of him remember what they had been when he thought back on it later. When it was clear he was no longer needed, he returned to his own rooms and hoping to restore some sort of normality to his day, dressed quickly. He was fixing his cravat, trying to forget the look of panic on Nanny's face and convince himself that breakfast was a good idea when, for the second time that morning, there was a knock at his door. Opening it, he found Miss Thompson standing there.

"I've pulled some things together for her." she said, holding up an overnight bag. "Her toothbrush, a spare nighty and her robe… I thought she might like some of her own things while she's in hospital."

"Oh… Yes, I suppose that is a good idea." he agreed, not certain what it was that she wanted from him.

"Right then." she said smiling and holding out an overnight bag towards him. He looked at her blankly. "I was assuming that you were going to go to the Hospital with her." she elaborated. "I'd hate for her to be alone…"

"Well yes, I suppose…" he blustered, taking the case.

"You had better hurry."

"They haven't left then?" he asked, stepping out and closing the door behind him.

"No – they wanted to get a saline drip into her, and get her onto the oxygen before they moved her. They just went down in the elevator."

"Right…" he mumbled, finding himself being ushered along. It was only once they had crossed the foyer and he was being helped into the back of the Ambulance that it actually struck him what it was he was doing.

"Don't you worry, Sir," the technician said as they pulled off. "I'm sure your wife'll be just fine."

**A/N: **great big hugs to revsue and tayryn. As always, I would love to hear (or read rather) what you think of this.

Thanks

xLx


	3. Chapter 3

**BEFORE A MIRROR DIMLY (**prequel to Now In A Mirror Dimly

**Disclaimer: **Any characters you recognise belong to Kay Thompson, Meg Cabot and/or Disney.

**Rating:** FRC

**Summary: **This is my take (with certain inputs from revsue) on what happened in the run up to the start of her Eloise/PD crossover Now In A Mirror Dimly.

Nanny felt strangely disorientated as she tried to peel open her eyes again. She was fairly certain she wasn't in her own bed anymore, had strange pieces of memory of two young men and a needle. Looking down, she saw something coming out of her arm and following it up she saw one of the young men from before, holding a bag above his head. He smiled and said something that she couldn't make out. Her chest hurt, everything hurt. Closing her eyes tight, she opened them again and realised that she was in the lift. She could see the back of Max's head and it wasn't until he glanced behind him, towards her that something dawned on her. Her arm felt like a lead weight but she tried to lift it up to push off whatever it was that was resting over her mouth. She needed to find out where Eloise was, find out if she was ok… The doors opened with a 'ping' and suddenly she felt the gurney begin to move.

"Elo…" she tried, pulling the mask down. "Whe…" she couldn't form the words though.

"Don't try and talk, Nanny." The man said, taking the mask from her and replaced it over her mouth. She let her head fall to the side and her hand back on top of her. She needed desperately to ask about Eloise but she was just so tired…

"Now, don't you worry," a familiar voice said from her other side. Looking up she saw Mr Salamone walking along beside them, looking nervous if concerned. "Bill is looking after Eloise and I've already put in a call to her mother. She's hoping to catch the first flight out of Montreal."

Nanny tried to convey her thanks and apologies with her eyes, knowing that she'd never manage to get the words out. She felt like such a fool as she felt the trolley being lifted down the steps outside the hotel. She felt her eyes drooping shut again though, and the chatter of the ambulance technicians seemed to lull her back to sleep.

The next time she became aware of voices, it took her a moment to figure out what was wrong with the situation. There was a distinct lack of Eloise's usual noise, that was one problem. The closer to consciousness she grew though, the more that her physical state impeded on her thinking. There was something on her face, and she tried to bat it away, with minimal success.

"Now… Nanny…" came Sir Wilkes' slightly admonishing voice from her left and a moment later she felt his hand restraining her own. Her eyes felt as though they had been glued shut and it took her several attempts to open them fully. By the time she did, she had almost convinced herself that her mind was playing tricks on her but no, Sir Wilkes was sitting next to her bed. Only it wasn't her bed. That realisation seemed somewhat familiar. It was only then that she remembered what had happened… remembered being taken through though foyer of the Plaza while still in her nightgown! She gasped at this sudden realisation, which in turn started her coughing again. Her world shrank back to solely herself as she struggled to calm her breathing but she couldn't help but be aware of Willie's awkward presence next to her. A woman appeared from somewhere, and helped her by lifting the mask away from her face and helped to clean her nose. She leaned back into the pillows that were banked up behind her, trying to regain some semblance of composure.

"That's the treat…" the woman said, reaching for a thermometer. She inserted in her ear and, holding it there, she reached out and took Nanny's own hand. "…well your temperature's dropped again. That's a good sign and the colour's back under your nails. But you need to stop knocking off the pulse-ox monitor…" she added with a smile, clipping something back onto Nanny's finger before turning to Sir Wilkes. "The doctor should be along shortly, we're just waiting for the x-rays to come back." She said before scooting off.

Nanny let her head roll round so that she was looking at Sir Wilkes again. It felt as though her thought processes were coated in treacle, but it was quite plain that he was trying desperately not to catch her eye. She took a deep breath, hoping to be able to say something to reassure him but the pain in her chest was enough to cause her to stop. Pressing a hand to her side, she made a note for future reference that deep breaths were not a good idea.

"Nan?" Wilkes' concerned tone pleasantly surprised her. Looking up, she found him standing right next to the bed, and as she caught his eye for the first time, she was suddenly struck by how warm it was in what, she supposed on some level she had already realised, was a hospital. Her nightgown was sticking to her and the sheets seemed like an impossible weight. Nanny could feel the perspiration beading on her forehead and suddenly she just couldn't remember what it was she had been going to say or even do.

Nanny closed her eyes, just for a moment, only intending to try and re-group her thoughts. She must have fallen into unconsciousness again however, for when she next opened her eyes there were more people around her bed. She saw Eloise moving towards her and knew she was saying something, but it took a moment for her brain to interpret what she was hearing.

"Nanny! You're awake!" She tried to smile at her, recalling that talking hadn't been particularly successful recently.

"Eloise! Shhh!" her mother scolded, before turning and looking towards Nanny too.

"Hello," she said softly, and suddenly it was all Nanny could do not to start weeping. "you had us scared." Nanny couldn't think where it was that the other woman had been, but she certainly hadn't been in New York, which meant…

"Sor…" she tried to whisper. "Sorry."

"Now, don't you be silly." she said, somehow, even standing in the middle of a busy ER, managing to look incredibly glamorous. "We only just arrived but Sir Wilkes has been kind enough to fill us in and the doctor's due to come back shortly…" she said, leaning down to kiss her gently on the forehead. "and then, we'll see about getting you in to your own room." That was so typically her. There was no need for her to be treated like that, there probably wasn't any need for her to be in the hospital at all…

"Well… now that you're here Ma'am." Sir Wilkes said, reminding her of his presence. "I shall return to the Plaza."

"Oh yes, Sir Wilkes! I'm sure Bill would like to know that Nanny has …'monia?" Eloise declared, obviously struggling to remember the word.

"Pneumonia, Eloise." her mother corrected. "Suspected, double pneumonia." Somewhere in Nanny's mind, that piece of information was grasped on to and mulled over. Just as Wilkes excused himself, someone who looked like a doctor came over and picked up the chart at the end of her bed. Nanny followed his progress with half lidded eyes and tried to concentrate on what it was that he was saying.

"Well, the x-rays confirm what we suspected. Double pneumonia, with quite a rapid onset from what we can gather." He said, looking up at Eloise and giving her a smile. She wriggled on her mother's knee and Nanny had to suppress the urge to tell her off. "We wouldn't expect the symptoms to have become quite so serious so rapidly, however if you were rundown… and unfortunately you are of an age where you're going to be more susceptible to these things." he added offering her a sympathetic smile. "However, we're getting you re-hydrated," the doctor continued. "your fever's lowered significantly since you were brought in, but it's still spiking periodically so we'll want to keep an eye on that. Your blood oxygenation level is better too, but we'd expect that when you're on a 90 re-breather."

"So you're going to keep her in?"

"Yes. For at least a few days." he said, flicking through some of the readings on the chart. "I'll go see what we can do about scaring up a bed for you."

"I wanted to talk to you about that…" Eloise's mother said, standing and guiding the physician towards the door. The effort of following the conversation thus far, never mind actually participating in it, seemed to have sapped Nanny's reserves. She could feel her eyes drifting shut again but she fought the urge as she saw Eloise prop her head on the edge of the mattress and look at her with those big eyes of hers.

"Nanny?" she asked, uncharacteristically quietly. With a Herculean effort Nanny managed to push the mask down around her neck.

"Sweetheart?"

"Are you going to be alright?" she asked. The genuine fear in the child's eyes made Nanny feel so incredibly guilty that even if she'd had the breath, she couldn't have put it into words.

"I'll be fine, fine, fine, Pet." she barely breathed. Her head was growing fuzzier now, her thought processes more clouded.

"Come on now, Eloise." the child's mother said, as Nanny felt someone replace the oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. "We have to let Nanny rest." She wanted to protest, but she couldn't even open her eyes. "Now, don't you worry." The other woman said, stroking her hair as if Nanny too were a child. "Just you sleep and get better."

Of all the ways she had woken up in her life, Nanny could honestly say, without a doubt, that the least pleasant was gasping for breath. It was dark and she was certain that she didn't recognise the room she was in but, any more than that she couldn't say. Nanny winced as she coughed and it reverberated through her chest. She was certain that she must have pulled every muscle in her body, she hurt so much.

"Back with us?" asked a soft voice, as its owner padded across and turned on the light. "Alright, Nanny. I know it's hard, but try not to panic." she said, lifting the mask clear and producing a box of tissues . "That's it. Try to cough the gunk up." Despite the nurses encouragement, there was nothing for her to cough up. "Don't worry, it's obviously still not loose enough to come up yet." she said once the fit had passed.

After a few minutes back on the oxygen Nanny began to feel more human than she had in at least a few hours.

"How long...?" Nanny asked. "What time is it?"

"It's about 11pm." the nurse, who had introduced herself as Lucy, replied. "And you were admitted to this ward at about 3.30 this afternoon."

"Oh…" Nanny said, trying to remember what she could of the previous hours. There were vague ideas but she struggled to come up with any concrete memories.

"Try to get back to sleep." Lucy said, checking her drip again before dimming the light. "It's the best thing for you at the moment." This suggestion was easy enough to follow as, yet again, Nanny's body seemed to be conspiring against her.

Her dreams were filled with disconnected images, confused with her recollections. She was searching for Eloise in the Plaza but she couldn't find her in spite of, for some reason, knowing that it was incredibly important that she did. Running down the corridors, she opened door after door but seemed to get no closer. The temperature was rising, but she was convinced on some level that she had to find the source of the heat to get to her charge. She was in the lift, when suddenly flames began licking their way through the floor. It was stifling, and as she was backed into the corner, she began to panic. There was smoke filling the small box and she was struggling to draw breath. She pulled at her collar, desperate to stop it from strangling her but she just couldn't seem to breathe. The acrid smoke caught at the back of her throat and it felt to Nanny almost as though she were drowning in it. Then there was a cool breeze from somewhere. Looking up, she saw someone was prising the doors apart and she reached for the hand that appeared to help her up. Her knight pulled her up, freeing her from the inferno and she clung to him as he swept her into his arms. Her slight, dark haired saviour was familiar and she realised quite suddenly that she had expected him to appear and save her. It wasn't until he was lying her down on what appeared to be a hospital bed that Nanny realised exactly who it was her knight had been. Sitting there next to her was Sir Wilkes, a bunch of roses resting on his knees.

The dreams continued on and off, variations on a theme, repeating over and over. At certain times she was convinced that she had stopped dreaming and that she was awake. The light would be different, suggesting the passage of time and sometimes she would see Eloise and her mother sitting there, and she wanted so much to speak with them. Time and again however, she felt herself slipping away, her hold on consciousness seemingly tenuous and fleeting. This continued for two days, she later found, as her fever continued to spike due to a secondary bacterial infection. When she woke up on the third day, she felt so much more like herself that it seemed almost impossible for her to believe she had been as ill as they were trying to tell her. At least until she had began coughing again, and the familiar pain had knifed through her.

"Well, I'm glad to see that you're feeling better." Dr Weaver said, as she listened to Nanny's chest.

"Much better." Nanny re-iterated, pulling the frustrating mask away from her face in order to help herself be understood. "Can I go home?" she asked. The young doctor chuckled at this.

"Not quite yet." Weaver replied. "Your blood-oxygen level is only at an acceptable level because you're still on 90 oxygen. Besides, I want to see you drinking and eating again properly before we even think about letting you out."

"And you really are going to need to rest, Nanny." Eloise's mother declared, as she and her daughter stepped through the door. "Heaven knows, it's going to be hard enough to get you to do that in here."

"I never was any good at doing nothing, nothing, nothing." Nanny said lightly, inwardly cringing at the thought of being forced into idleness.

"Well, I think you'll find that it'll be a while before you have the strength or energy to do a great deal more than rest." The Doctor warned.

"Oh tush, tush, tush. I'm sure I'll be up and about in no time." she said with a conviction that she only half felt. As the physician left, Eloise scampered across the room and practically vaulted onto the bed.

"Oh, Nanny! You look so much better!"

"Thank you. I think…" she added.

"Put that back on." The other woman said in an almost scolding tone. "You heard the Doctor. You need that oxygen."

Nanny conceded, admitting if only to herself that it certainly made her feel better. Eloise proceeded to tell her all about what had gone on at the Plaza in Nanny's absence and all of the exciting things that her Mother had been doing with her.

"It would have been even better if you had been there too though." she said almost forlornly.

Nanny was touched by this but found that, once again, she was suddenly impossibly tired simply from listening to the child tell of her exploits.

Late the following day, Nanny was much relieved when the oxygen mask was replaced with a tube that ran under her nose, meaning that she could talk much more freely. She had been allowed up and was sitting in an old fashioned chair by the window, when her visitors arrived. Having slept most of the day away, much to her irritation, she was once again hugely confused as to times and days. She was just trying to create some sort of time line in her own head and establish what of what she could remember had actually happened as opposed to having been merely a product of her feverish imagination when Eloise's voice could be heard from outside.

"Well, hello there, Love." she said, rearranging her dressing gown around her. "Now there was no need for you to bring more flowers!" she admonished when the child produced a ridiculously over the top bouquet from behind her back.

"But, we haven't brought you any flowers before." Eloise said, looking quite confused.

"Oh…" Nanny murmured, trying to take this in. There had been two vases of flowers in her room when she had woken yesterday, an intricate display whose card indicated it was from Mr Peabody and the staff at the Plaza, the other bearing no card at all. Or so the nurse whom she had asked about it had said. Nanny had automatically assumed that they had been from her employer but now… "Well. Thank you very much in that case." She said, taking them and smelling the blooms. "Let's get them into some water shall we, Pet?"

Despite her protests, it was another three days until it was finally declared she was to be allowed home. She spent the time she was awake, reading and doing her embroidery, which Eloise and her mother had been more than kind in supplying, though she found that her attention span was much reduced. Her only complaint on the matter was with regards to the fact that contrary to her requests they had singularly failed produce any of her clothes. Up until the previous day however, her activities had been widely curtailed by her being hooked up on oxygen, in any case, or she would almost have suspected that it was a conspiracy to stop her from venturing too far. Speaking of the oxygen however, Nanny was somewhat reluctant to admit, but couldn't really help but acknowledge, that, she was missing it. Though they had been reducing the percentage she was being fed over the intervening days and she had been as grateful to be rid of that tubing as she had been the drip, she noticed its loss much more intensely. She became short of breath more readily and tired more easily than she had become used to the previous day but Nanny wasn't about to have something so minor put her down. She was feeling remarkably better and, as long as she avoided breathing too deeply and initiating a coughing fit, she was, in her own opinion, perfectly capable of getting back on with things.

She was sitting on her bed waiting when Eloise and her mother once again made their predictably noisy entrance to the ward and then her room.

"Good morning, Nanny!" Eloise said, bounding across the room and jumping at her.

"Good morning, Petal." Nanny replied, ruffling the child's hair.

"We've brought you some clothes so you can come home with us." she continued.

"Well thank the Lord for that!" she said smiling. "I would hate to have to ride home in my night things. But," she continued looking up and catching her employer's eye. "I told you there was no need for you to escort me. I'm perfectly capable of catching a taxi on my own, you know."

"Indeed you might be, but I'm not likely to let you now am I, Nanny? At least not today." Eloise's mother said, cocking her head to one side. "Now, I spoke to the nurses at the desk and the Doctor is going to come by and sign your release papers in a couple of hours, on the condition that you've eaten your lunch. So. Eloise and I are going to disappear to Bloomingdale's but we'll be back at one. Ok?" Nanny knew it was a rhetorical question so didn't bother to argue.

Once she had been left alone, Nanny set about getting dressed for the first time in a week. The task was not a complex one, though she was relieved to find everything she needed. Standing before the mirror in the watery sunshine, she stood and surveyed her image slowly. She supposed she would have realised, had she thought about it that it was inevitable that she would have lost some weight. After all she barely had an appetite even now and she had been running a substantially high fever for several days. However, her nightgowns hadn't highlighted the issue in the same way her blouse and skirt now were. Well, she supposed, there were certainly worse problems and this one would be easily enough sorted.

"Lunch is served." one of the nurses declared, backing through the door with a tray, rousing her from her contemplations.

"Thank you, Dear." she said, turning towards her and steeling herself to try and eat what she could. Nanny was certainly not about to be told she had to spend a minute longer in this damned place, solely because she had not eaten her greens. Again, it was Eloise, who heralded their arrival back on the ward and Nanny used this as a cue to push the tray away. Doctor Weaver accompanied her escorts into the room and took a pointed glance at her half-finished meal before saying good afternoon.

"Right…" Weaver said, looking over the chart. "I'm going to sign you out." Nanny sighed in relief. "But!" she continued. "This does not mean that you're in the clear. You're going to have to be careful, you need to get plenty of rest and eat properly and drink plenty of non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic fluids. Otherwise you could be back in here with a relapse quicker than I can well…"

"Don't worry. She will!" Eloise declared.

"Now see here, here, here!" Nanny protested, she did not need a six year old telling her what to do and what she should be eating and drinking. "I'll be just fine, fine, fine."

"I'll keep an eye on her." Eloise's mother said lightly, her hand resting on Nanny's arm. Her sheer, unadulterated joy at the prospect of being let out was beginning to be tainted. Dr Weaver on the other hand, smiled at this.

"Well I'm glad there'll be somebody around to ensure that you take it easy." She said. "Take this to the nurses' station and they'll give you your release papers and hopefully, we won't be seeing any more of you."

"Well, thank you." Nanny said taking the sheet from her.

"I wanted to get Maggie to take us back to the Plaza." Eloise declared as they rode the lift down towards ground floor. "But Mother said that we didn't want to let you get cold." she added with a disappointed sigh. She was more animated than she had been all week and Nanny was glad to see her unrestrained enthusiasm return.

"Oh well, maybe next time." Nanny replied automatically.

"The taxi is waiting outside." Eloise's mother said, exchanging a look with her over her daughter's head, as they stepped out of the lift. The whole process was beginning to take its toll on Nanny, she simply couldn't wait to get back to the Plaza. She was more than ready to go home and, above all, she was ready for things to return to normality.

**A/N: **well that's it…

All over. I suggest you now go and re-read Now In A Mirror Dimly (if for no other reason than you can then leave me notes about all the mistakes I've made – lol)

Thanks to Revsue for letting me do this (and for beta-ing the outcome) (!)

Hope you've enjoyed it.

Linds


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